


That Time Zuko Realised He was In Love With Aang

by TrashTrish



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aged up Zukaang - Freeform, Aged-Up Character(s), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Feelings Realization, Friendship, M/M, POV Zuko (Avatar)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:48:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25823173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrashTrish/pseuds/TrashTrish
Summary: Zuko never expected to find himself being friends with the Aang, let alone working with him.Yet he is.Their duties as Fire Lord and Avatar mean they end up spending more time together than the rest of the Gaang and he finds he doesn't mind it. Long days turn into late nights spent together. A tradition between the two he holds dear.And now he has to face the truth; he's in love with Aang.
Relationships: Aang/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 228
Collections: Forever Zukaang





	That Time Zuko Realised He was In Love With Aang

He had come to look forward to this time of the day. Night was falling on the Fire Nation and he was standing on the balcony of his bedroom, Aang next to him, as they discussed their upcoming trip to the North Pole. Zuko felt strange. This had been a tradition of his and Aang's over the last three years.

The first time he invited Aang to join him he had not considered it would become a regular occurrence with them.

The day had been long. He could remember that clearly. They had been in discussions with the leaders of the other nations. Chief Hakoda, King Bumi, King Kuei and Chief Arnook had all gathered to discuss the state of the world. Chief Arnook also had some... reservations about his presence at the meeting. He had been at several before that day but for some reason, the suspicion the man looked at him with was more obvious that day. He had felt it prickle at him whenever the other man looked at him, reminding him that he was still the villain at the table. Every single one of the men sitting at the table with the exception of him were great people. They had gone above and beyond to protect their people from the wrath of his father and his grandfather and his great-grandfather before them. And there he was sitting at the table like he belonged. He had known he didn't truly belong.

"We have helped our sister tribe as much as we possibly can," Chief Arnook said. "But there is more work to be done before they are back to their former glory."

"We've come a long way," Hakoda replied.

"Is there anything more we can do to help?" Aang included him so easily. Zuko didn't know how he did it. But there was no room left for doubt that he was offering both his own and Zuko's help with things.

"I don't know what _he_ can do to help anyone," Arnook mumbled.

Aang jumped in before anyone had the chance to utter another word. "Fire Lord Zuko and I have both been very active in our efforts to help the South Pole rebuild and heal from the war. Fire Lord Zuko has pledged as many from his army as it takes to help get things up and running. He is doing what he can to help and he is more than willing to keep doing so. I can assure you he will help any nation who requests his assistance if he can."

"The Fire Lord has been a great help to us the last few years as we rebuild," Hakoda added.

"He also sent men to help clean up Omashu after the war," Bumi added and then laughed. That laugh could make anyone giggle. It was infectious in the weirdest way because at first, it might bug you, or maybe you think the man was insane, but then you would realise how happy it made you when you heard that sound.

"I know I have hurt your people in the past, all your people. I was directly responsible for some of the harm caused to your kingdoms and I don't know how I can make it up to you all," he told the men sitting around the table. "I am so sorry for everything my family and I have done to hurt you. There is nothing I can do to change the past although I truly wish I could. For everyone at this table. I know you have all lost so much because of the war. I will live with the regret of that for the rest of my life. But please, if there is ever anything I can do, if you ever have a problem with someone from the Fire Nation, then please know I will do whatever I can to rectify it."

Arnook glared as he muttered an apology of sorts. He didn't quite catch what was said but he could feel the lack of conviction behind it. But it wasn't something he wanted them to linger on. All he wanted was for things to keep moving. Aang had defended him, had done so in a way that didn't bring any added conflict, he had aligned the two of them as allies and friends. It had been in his typical Aang way too, no real heat and in that kindly yet charismatic way Aang could speak to people. He admired his ability to function around others that way. He loved watching it and trying to model that kind of persona. It was something he was nowhere close to matching.

"Here here," Bumi had added.

And the meeting had moved on. The tension did not go unnoticed. Aang and the other men had tried to keep him as involved in the conversation as possible, even King Kuei who didn't know him very well at all. Apparently the man's bear had been a winning factor in the King's liking of him. One of their first meeting the bear had plopped down between him and Aang and allowed Zuko to pet him, something that told the King more than anything else ever would.

The hours had dragged on and when the day was over he had been tired, and so had Aang, so he'd invited him to come and relax. Aang had accepted with a grin and they spent hours talking on the balcony. It had been a wonderful shift of pace on the day and he'd found himself feeling more at peace than he ever had before. And so that night had bled into the next night and the next night after that until they had to go on their own trips, but once they had returned, they went back to this being a nightly ritual.

It had started to feel different a few months ago.

The rest of the gang had come and Zuko could remember feeling on edge. He loved having his friends around, Toph was around more than the others now but he saw Suki or Sokka from time to time on official duties as Fire Lord. But this was one of the first times in over a year they had been in the same place and it had been great. It was just, as the day wore on, and they were reminiscing more and more, he found himself worrying that Aang would want to forgo their ritual or he would invite the others.

He didn't understand it.

Aang was his best friend, yes.

But they were all his very dear friends. 

They all meant so much to him.

They were all like family.

Yet he did not want the others involved.

"What's eating you?" Sokka had asked.

"Huh?" he replied, not realising until that moment that he had been zoned out. "Nothing, I'm fine."

"You sure?" Katra had asked. 

"I'm fine. Just...enjoying the nice weather we've been having."

He had wanted to cringe. It sounded lame to his own ears.

Toph's voice was laced with sarcasm when she said. "Sure you are, Zuko. Sure you are."

Aang had shot her a look before leaning over to whisper something in her ear. They had a mini discussion between the two of them, and he and the others watched as Aang whispered furiously in Toph's ear. He was so animated when he got angry or annoyed. It was funny because the man was almost never angry or annoyed. She smiled teasingly and said, finally, voice laced with humour, "fine, I'll keep my trap shut." Aang seemed appeased and smiled at him a little guiltily and then changed the subject for which he was grateful. Whatever was going on he didn't want to tell everyone he was sulking because he thought they would spoil his tradition with Aang.

"Who wants to fly around on Appa for a while? Just like old times!"

And so they had. 

"You know, this is the one part of the old days I will never miss." Toph grumbled.

"I thought you'd gotten used to flying on Appa," Suki pointed out.

Toph huffed. "You could call it getting used to it or you could call it adapting the best you can when you're no longer able to see anything at all."

"We can land," Aang suggested.

"Nah, I'm not going to be the one ruining everyone's fun."

"It never bothered you before," Sokka taunted which earned him a punch in the arm from Katara.

"Leave Toph alone."

"Yes, mom."

Katara's face was like thunder. "Don't call me mom!"

Toph laughed. "It's nice to see some things never change."

He had laughed along but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a growing disappointment. They flew around for close to two hours before Aang had landed Appa and told the others they would see them the next morning. Hugs were exchanged. Katara lingered a little longer than usual with Aang and Toph was standing next to him smirking like she had something to say...but she never said anything. He waited until the others were gone and he prepared to say goodnight to Aang.

Until Aang had asked if he was ready to start their nightly talk.

"Are you sure you don't want to miss tonight? Maybe spend some more time with the others."

"There's nothing else I'd rather do," Aang had said.

And from that night onward, it had been different. He felt different each night. He paid more attention to Aang. The way he looked, the way he spoke, his laugh. He went out of his way to make him laugh. They would stand a little closer together and the nights would go on a little longer.

Now, as he stood next to Aang, for yet another one of their nightly talks, he couldn't figure out what was going on.

They had been enemies when they met.

Became friends after more than a few wrong moves on his part.

And now they were best friends.

Best friends who worked together and spent their free time talking on his balcony.

Aang was such an important part of his life. When he slept at night all he would see is the two of them on this balcony. Sometimes they were closer physically than he remembered being but it always made him feel amazing. He would crave that closeness. It was a closeness he had never felt before. Even with Mai, and she was the closest he had been to another person that wasn't his mother or his uncle. They had shared a lot of things together and stayed friends after their final breakup. But nobody had ever made him feel the way Aang did.

He truly felt like he could be himself with Aang and their bond was growing stronger every day. That wasn't something he had with anyone else.

Aang was watching him, he realised, with a little bit of concern. "Is everything okay? You're spacing out on me."

Aang was beautiful. He was so freaking beautiful. From the inside out he was the most beautiful person in the world. So loving and kind, he would give all of himself to whoever needed him and he would do so without any concern for himself. Even when he was at his worst Aang had offered him an olive branch, had looked beyond the evil exterior he now saw he hid behind and asked if there was any way they could have been friends. They had been little more than strangers at the time. It was that loving, caring heart Zuko was drawn to. He was the brightest light in any room and his smile was like an addiction, you saw it once and you wanted to see it again and again. Zuko wanted to see that smile every day, he wanted to wrap himself in it and always have it with him.

Zuko could not imagine his life without Aang in it. For sixteen years he had lived without Aang and in the span of six years his world had changed so much and he could no longer imagine a life or a world without Aang in it. When he envisioned his future, he envisioned Aang in it. By his side...smiling at him, holding his hand, loving him...

His heart was hammering in his chest as he stared at Aang through new eyes.

Aang was beautiful to him. He was so _good_ in his eyes. The kind of good you couldn't fake or steal from someone. Aang was everything. He was the most important person in his life. He was the reason Zuko felt like he could be better.

The truth crashed into Zuko with a force strong enough to crumble every building in the fire nation, it knocked the breath out of his lungs and made his knees wobble. 

He was in love with Aang.

The truth tasted sweet and bitter at the same time.

He was in love with Aang.

 _He_ was _in love_ with _Aang_.

He was madly, irrevocably in love with Aang.

He had fallen in love with Aang.

"I'm fine," Zuko whispered hoarsely. "A little tired, I guess."

He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the truth. It was too painful. He might love Aang but he could never be with Aang. Aang was too good for him. He was too pure. He deserved someone who could love him and be a good force next to him.

"Hey, if you want to call it a night we can." Aang's voice was soft as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

"No, I'll be fine in a minute."

He had the chance to create some distance, to break the connection now, but Zuko didn't want to. He wanted Aang here with him. Maybe he wasn't good enough to give him up.

He was screwed.


End file.
